Boating & Boats - the latest news from the Asia-Pacific

I was somewhat confused as to my whereabouts this morning when I awoke to sunshine.

Sunshine!

On the Gold Coast.....something not seen in any quantity for at least two weeks.

So, away we go....this week we chat with a man about his new boat, none other than V8 Supercar ace Russell Ingall, the man they call ‘The Enforcer'.

On the powerboat racing front, there's plenty of news, from the approaching excitement of the opening round of the Class 1 World Powerboat Championships off Qatar to the opening of the spectacular Powerboat P1 championships scheduled for the Mediterranean off the island of Malta.

It's all happening.

Across the ditch, the Kiwi racers are preparing to take on a new venue for the penultimate round of the Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Championships, while closer to home we take a look at a very smart Cobalt bowrider and a new Yamaha twin-rig for the Victorian Coastwatch Rescue.

Most of the marine industry gossip around the Gold Coast at present centres on the approaching Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show and needless to sat Powerboat-World will be there every day in strength to reveal all.

Similarly, organisers of the Sydney International Boat Show, the Boating Industry Association of NSW, are equally involved with the Darling Harbour extravaganza.

I am delighted to report that continuing ‘gossip' related to the economic doom and gloom seems to have disappeared.

Let's hope it stays that way.

Read on, and drop back regularly for our constant updates.

Bob Wonders

Six near new luxury Sunseekers to be auctioned by Marine Auctions Media Services, Marine Auctions and Valuations have six near-new luxury Sunseekers for Auction. Today we feature the Sunseeker Superhawk 48. For full specifications and inspections visit the Marine Auctions website - www.marineauctions.com.au for further details.... [more]

Maritimo test the waters in Doha Class 1 media, Maritimo Australia took their first tentative steps in the build-up to their 2009 Class 1 campaign, with Peter ‘Muddy' McGrath and team newcomer, Giorgio Manuzzi, teaming up for the first time to shake down the team's number two boat, Maritimo 12 in Doha... [more]

Marsden Cove is new venue for penultimate round of NZ offshore Kate Gordon, NZ offshore competitors delighted with new venue for championships. With the race circuit set just a few hundred metres out from the marina, competitors will go past nearby One Tree Point and up into Whangarei Harbour, offering excellent viewing of the race for spectators.... [more]

Maritimo on side with ‘The Enforcer' Bob Wonders, V8 Supercar driver Russell Ingall is at perfectly at home aboard his Maritimo. Russell chose the 715hp C-12 Caterpillar engine option, and from there he as the saying goes, ‘went to town', specifying engineering and electronics to his personal demands.... [more]

National Marine Safety Committee 'Summit Down Under' goes ahead The National Marine Safety Committee (NMSC), is forging ahead with the Summit Down Under on 22 May. The one-day workshop to be held on Friday 22 May 2009 at the Gold Coast International Hotel will focus on developments in recreational boating safety both locally and internationally.... [more]

No cats allowed at Powerboat P1 Bob Wonders, Mono hull series now claimed as world's premium international motor sport event. In 2009, teams will compete for the world crown at five Grand Prix of the Sea events on offshore waters at some of the world's most exotic tourist locations.... [more]

Warming Climate impacts Food Web base in Western Antarctic Peninsula WHOI /Rutgers University, The warming climate is changing the numbers and composition of phytoplankton—the base of the food web—along the western shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula.... [more]

Class 1 action at Qatar set for exciting opening Bob Wonders, Class 1 World Offshore Powerboat Championship looks set to ignite. Multiple World Champion Steve Curtis, MBE, the most successful throttleman in offshore racing history, has issued a warning to all teams; he is out to power His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani to his maiden World crown in ‘Qatar 96'.... [more]

Yamaha Twin Rig powers latest Coastwatch Rescue Boat Bob Carter, Dual Yamaha four stroke outboard engines have been selected to power the latest rescue boat to be launched in Victoria. A pair of Yamaha F150 model outboards grace the transom of the Coastwatch Rescue boat operating out of the coastal town of Ocean Grove.... [more]

Another class act from Cobalt Bob Wonders, Cobalt has earned an enviable reputation worldwide for its standard of finish. The company has been building its internationally-renowned range of premium sport boats and motor yachts for the past 40-years, ranging from trailerable 20-footers (6.09-metres) through to stunning 46-footers (14.02-metres).... [more]

$500 Gift for new d'Albora Customers Jeni Bone, Taking advantage of the rarely available marina berths at any one of d'Albora's seven marinas across Sydney, Melbourne and Port Stephens, will pay dividends for the next three months, with all new customers receiving a $500 fuel voucher valid until the end of the year.... [more]

Queensland - 70 native fish species benefit from fishways installation Dept Fisheries Queensland, Barramundi, mangrove jack and mullet are among the 70 native fish species that have benefited from the construction of 20 fishways on Central and North Queensland streams and wetlands in the past 12 months.... [more]

Azzura Marine MD elected new Superyacht Base Australia Chairman Azzura Marine, Superyacht Base Australia (SYBA), the peak body representing Australia's superyacht industry, has announced Azzura Marine Managing Director David McQueen as the new Chairman of the organisation. David brings over 30 years of boat building and management experience to the group, complete with the passion and drive to position SYBA and its members in the best possible light for the future.... [more]

Alcohol and water don't mix: Southern 80 alcohol charges NSW Maritime, Six men lost their boat licences and received fines ranging from $300 to $800 after exceeding the alcohol limit while boating on the Murray River during the Southern 80 waterski weekend.... [more]

Make sure you have a valid NSW recreational fishing licence New South Wales DPI Fisheries, Anglers are being reminded to make sure they have a valid NSW recreational fishing licence, before they drop a line in this Easter. NSW DPI compliance manager, Glenn Tritton, said fisheries officers would be out in force both day and night over the Easter long weekend to ensure fishers are complying with the fishing rules.... [more]

Riviera's R Marine expands to Victoria's Gippsland Lakes Denby Browning, R Marine Jacksons Vic has announced the appointment of Webster Marine (Paynesville) to represent the business in the Gippsland Lakes region of Victoria.... [more]

Letter from the Indies: Cruising in CUBA Andrea and Ian Treleaven, The Treleavens continue with their tales of sailing the Caribbean, and have just sailed from Turks & Caicos Islands via Guantanamo Bay(see picture of guarding speedboat left) to CUBA.Our first 24 hours in Cuba, Ian feels like he has died and gone to heaven, with wonderful music, mojitos and friendly Spanish speaking people. As for me, it is full of images to keep me wide-eyed... [more]

Thousands of reasons why Classes, Clubs and Events upload news and pix Rob Kothe & the Sail-World Team, Over the last three years the number of Classes and Clubs posting their own news, (which we edit) via our Sail-World news and image upload system has been growing exponentially. In March 2009 our team published 937 stories, of which we wrote more than 300 ourselves, but another 250 came from Classes, Clubs and events, the rest were international- many of those too came in via news... [more]

Online traffic audits will make advertising decisions easier Brendan Maxwell, Australia's online marketplace will benefit with the web traffic statistics being reported through the ABA's new Web Audit Service. The service will verify the correct placement and number of tags per page by online publishers and ensure that the web measurement system is capturing web traffic data accurately and reporting in accordance to industry agreed standards.... [more]

HMS Beagle exhibition at the National Maritime Museum Bill Richards, A major exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum takes you on the sea voyage that inspired Charles Darwin's great theory of evolution.... [more]

The finance package that could save your life Finlease, When you purchase a big ticket item like a motor vehicle, on many occasions it comes with complimentary breakdown assistance. Buy a boat however, and you're left to your own devices. Now, Finlease has introduced a finance solution that gives boat buyers the added peace of mind of free breakdown assistance at sea.... [more]

Internet 101 - Hits are not people Rob Kothe, While the internet is now 20 years old, confusion still abounds about the basic recording of visits to websites. When you are being told about the wonderful traffic a website receives, check to see if the claimant has been impressed by the hits, the page views or the unique visitors.... [more]

Broadband Radar new from Navico Jeni Bone, Navico has released the world's first recreational marine Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radome across three of its brands – Lowrance, Northstar and Simrad for each of those diverse markets.... [more]

Marine Queensland accuses Broadwater MP of being ‘out of touch' Bob Wonders, Pete-Kaye Croft, MP for Broadwater, cops a broadside from MQ's Don Jones. Ms Croft had been commenting on the numerous complaints directed at the State Government over the lack of maintenance and the urgent need for large-scale dredging of the Southport Broadwater.... [more]

MV Pacific Adventurer owner liable for enviro disaster Jeni Bone, The owner of a ship that leaked 30 tonnes of oil into Moreton Bay, off Brisbane, during a cyclone is likely to face prosecution.... [more]

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